At a February 20, 2010 pigeon shoot at the infamous Philadelphia Gun Club, […] a member of the Club viciously yelled at two female activists saying, “Go fuck yourself you rotten cunt!”

SHARK discovered that the assailant was Richard Shackleton and that he was town attorney for Long Beach Township, NJ. At the April 9th Long Beach Township committee meeting, we confronted him about what he had done.

What he said was shocking: “I’m happy to say that, what I said, I meant every word of it.”

When offered a chance to apologize he said, “Absolutely not.”

At this point, Shackleton had compounded upon his original insult by taking pride in hurting his victims. And again, during a television newscast, he refused to apologize for his vile comments.

Referring to his despicable use of the “c” word, Shackleton said: “I think that’s what she is and I think she deserved it.”

Quite possibly you’ve already heard about Richard Shackleton, a pigeon shooter and solicitor for Long Beach Township, New Jersey, who hurled gendered slurs at two female activists – and then, when confronted by SHARK members at a Long Beach Township committee meeting, refused to apologize for the comments? No? Then keep reading for SHARK’s ongoing reports on the situation, complete with links to recent media coverage and opportunities to take action.

veganprimate points to the case of Robert Melia – a former police officer who, along with his girlfriend, was arrested for sexually assaulting three girls – as a demonstration of the link between the exploitation of women and that of nonhuman animals. Melia’s misogyny only came to light because Melia was under investigation for engaging in “oral sex” (read: rape) with calves. Though the animal cruelty charges were dismissed by a judge – according to whom, a grand jury had no way of knowing whether the animals were “tormented” by the assault – police found

videos on his computer of a girl being “subjected to sexual activity” in addition to taped encounters between Melia and the calves.

While I’m glad the assistant prosecutor seems to be taking animal abuse seriously, the cynic in me can’t help but think he’s simply latching onto this “lesser” offense for leverage. Either way, it’s doubtful that Melia and girlfriend Heather Lewis will serve much time, as rape is too often minimized and excused in our kyriarchal society.

Be firm but polite!

In a could-be-vegan spin on the ever-popular women-as-meat meme, I bring you: women-as-cake! Sure, there’s a dudely version of the photo too, but as Lisa points out, it’s sans copy – and probably wasn’t plastered on the magazine’s cover, as were the woman’s sliced and dismembered buttocks.

The following action alert was featured in SHARK’s October 1st newsletter:

Pennsylvania – Last State to Allow Pigeon Shoots

It has been a dozen years since SHARK attended a pigeon shoot. After knocking this most cowardly of killing contests out of Illinois, we worked for a while in Pennsylvania, where we were initially introduced to the issue. SHARK figured that pigeon shoots would soon be made illegal, as other groups closer to PA continued to work on the issue.

Unfortunately, the immoral disease of pigeon shoots persists in Pennsylvania, and SHARK can no longer ignore these killing orgies. Especially now that the internet is as pervasive as it is, we believe that SHARK’s approach of graphically documenting abuse, and of often publicly identifying the abusers will have a major impact on these killing orgies. We already have two videos up on YouTube exposing pigeon shoots, see videos below:

Many of those involved in pigeon shoots are well-to-do professionals from cities. These depraved, insecure little men (and some women) have an insatiable thirst for blood, and since they are too cowardly to take on anyone their own size, they go after the most unthreatening, inoffensive animals they can find — pigeons — which come from the family of doves, birds of peace.

The battle against pigeon shoots involves much more than a relatively small number of cowardly, genetic and moral rejects who gun down half pound birds tossed out of boxes. The real “Sugar Daddy” of Pennsylvania’s pigeon shoots is the National Rifle Association (NRA). It is the NRA that is successfully persuading some of PA lawmakers to allow these killing contests to continue.

Legislation is pending in the Pennsylvania House (H.B. 2130) to ban this atrocity with 50 co-sponsors. Unfortunately, House Majority Leader William DeWeese is refusing to bring the bill up for a vote. The Pennsylvania legislative session is almost over and action is needed now to pass this legislation.

What You Can Do:

Please contact (even if you don’t live in Pennsylvania) Representative William DeWeese and ask that he allow H.B. 2130 to be voted on:

The Sunday, October 15, New York Times Magazine has a story, by Jon Mooallem, headed “Pigeon Wars” and subheaded, “That the latest technology and ecological thinking can, and can’t, do about controlling our fine-feathered pests.” (P54)

The article looks at efforts to control pigeon populations in big cities. It is notable that only humane methods of control are being considered.

Mooallem focuses on a group of activists campaigning for pigeon control in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles. He writes of activist Laura Dodson who leads a volunteer campaign against the birds:

“Dodson has lived in Hollywood for 29 years. She likes pigeons and does not want them killed or made to suffer. She said this repeatedly in the clipped, mildly truculent way she says a lot of things.”

He covers some of the problems stemming from rampant pigeon populations in our cities:

“A pigeon dispenses about 25 pounds of excrement a year. Often this gunk must be blasted off hard-to-reach places using boom lifts and steam hoses. Pigeon-related damage in America has been estimated to cost $1.1 billion a year.”

Mooallem explains, however, that while the United States Department of Agriculture kills 60,000 pigeons a year in response to complaints, killing the birds is no longer the preferred method of dealing with complaints.

The Monday, June 26 New York Times includes a lovely op-ed by Andrew Blechman about pigeons. It is headed “Pigeon English.” (Pg A19.)

Blechman refers to London’s attempt to rid Trafalgar Square of pigeons, and, in New York, to poisoning, torture, and “the weekly poaching of thousands of pigeons, which are then sold to Pennsylvania gun clubs for use as live target practice.”

He writes:

“While most birds in the United States and abroad are protected by a series of federal laws and international treaties — the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Endangered Species Act, for instance — pigeons have fallen through the avian safety net. While hummingbirds, piping plovers, the spotted owl and even New York City’s famous red-tailed hawk known as Pale Male are afforded stringent protections and favorable news media attention, it is open season on one of mankind’s most loyal and gentle friends, the pigeon.”